REALITY - OR RACIST?

An interview with NBA legends Larry Bird and Magic Johnson has created a stir -- but some in the league are downplaying his comments.

In an ESPN interview to be aired tonight, NBA legend Larry Bird said he believes the league lacks white superstars and revealed that nothing bothered him more in his playing days than being guarded by a white player.

In Chicago for the NBA predraft camp at Moody Bible Institute, Bird, the Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations, declined to comment further on his remarks Wednesday night through both team and league spokespeople.

A bevy of high-profile league executives followed suit, including many who are typically media-friendly.

Two people who did comment -- Bulls coach Scott Skiles and longtime player Charles Oakley -- downplayed the issue, although Oakley injected his unique brand of philosophy and humor into what some will view as an inflammatory situation.

"I respect Larry," Oakley said in a phone interview. "And he's right: He's got a lot of white stiffs on his team right now not doing much."

Bird made his comments during a one-hour special featuring his longtime foil, Magic Johnson, and high-profile rookies LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. Moderator Jim Gray asked Bird if the league lacks white superstars.

"Well, I think so," Bird said. "You know when I played, you had me and Kevin [McHale] and some others throughout the league. I think it's good for a fan base because, as we all know, the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited. But it is a black man's game, and it will be forever. I mean, the greatest athletes in the world are African-Americans."

Johnson, according to a partial transcript, quickly agreed with Bird, a point not lost on Oakley.

"That's a bold statement," Oakley said. "But Larry had a lot of talent, and certain people can say things and get away with them. If Allen Iverson or Latrell Sprewell said that, it'd be a cover story."

Several league officials who declined to comment for attribution privately supported Bird. One who had listened to the entire interview said the potentially sensitive remark came during a broader discussion that also included talk about the influx of European players.

Another brought up the fact that Bird used to stage a charity basketball game at Market Square Arena that benefited, in part, the Indiana Black Expo, a non-profit organization.

"I'm fairly certain it wasn't meant the way it was portrayed," Skiles said. "It wasn't portrayed negatively, but I think it's something drawing way too much attention already."

Asked if he felt Bird made race an issue when he played, Skiles said, "No. Nobody I know does."

James and Anthony are quoted in the program as saying they believe that race isn't an issue in the NBA.

"Why make a statement like that then?" Oakley said. "[Bird] said [African-Americans] are the best athletes, right? We're the best boxer, the best golfer, the best [female] tennis player. The only thing we're not good at is riding horses."

Equally as odd as Oakley's logic were Bird's comments about being guarded by a white player.

"I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me," Bird said in the program. "I still don't understand why. A white guy would come out, I would always ask him, 'What, do you have a problem with your coach? Did your coach do this to you?' And he would say, 'No,' and I'd say, 'Come on, you got a white guy coming out here to guard me; you got no chance.' And for some reason, that always bothered me."

Even those who privately supported Bird were puzzled by those comments. But Oakley agreed, mostly, with Bird's larger point about marketing.

"The majority of the fans are white, and the league has a lot of European guys that they want to make superstars," Oakley said. "But all they can do is shoot. A lot of white players play great in the regular season, but when crunch time comes, not too many of them show up.

"Dirk [Nowitzki], he's 7-1. All he does is shoot jumpers. What is that? Plus, [Dallas] hasn't got out of the [Western Conference] playoffs. Yao Ming is 7-6 and you don't even have to double-team him. [Houston] didn't get out of the first round of the playoffs." *